Ten Tribes Studies (4 December, 2014, 12 Kislev, 5775)
Duration: 11 minutes. To Read Articles Please Scroll Down.
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Contents:
1. Levites and Israel
2. Interesting Article Comparing Yehudah to Yoseph.
3. New Article. Truly Earnest. A Reply to Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D.
4. Lyne Tracy: Universities, Schools.etc. should teach about the Lost Ten Tribes!
5. New Article. Resolution 181. The Three Oaths and Joseph
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1. Levites and Israel
Additional Addition to Article.
Druids and Israel. A Comparison of the Sages of Judah with those of the West
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/secular/druids.html
Levites and Israel
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/secular/druids.html#ll
Originally the Levites were scattered in their own townships throughout all the Tribes of Israel.
The Levites consisted of Priests (Cohens) who were to perform sacrifices etc in the Temple and ordinary Levites who did other functions such as gatekeeping and singing in the Temple service.
They also taught the people the Law and acted as an auxiliary police force and border patrol.
[As stated above, the Levites as a tribe would have been closely associated with the Sages as a social class. The functions of the two overlapped and interlocked with each other. Traditionally, a good portion of the Sages from the very beginning had always belonged to the Tribes of Judah (Talmud, Yoma 26;a), Levi (Midrash Sifrei on Deuteronomy 33:8; Maimonides, Hicot Shemitah ve-Yovel, 13;10), and Issachar (Midrash Sifrei on Deuteronomy 33:18; Midrash, BaMidbar Rabah 2;10).
Judging from the division of the Land of Canaan in the time of Joshua, most of the Cohens (as distinct from other Levites) were concentrated in the south in areas that later pertained to what became the Kingdom of Judah. This may help explain why today amongst the Jews there appear to be more Cohens than Levites.
As we said the Levites acted as instructors to the people.
After Jeroboam led the northern Ten Tribes in setting up their own kingdom he appointed religious functionaries of his own and in effect demoted the Levites.
[1-Kings 12:31] AND HE MADE AN HOUSE OF HIGH PLACES, AND MADE PRIESTS OF THE LOWEST OF THE PEOPLE, WHICH WERE NOT OF THE SONS OF LEVI.
Consequently the Levites moved southward into the Kingdom of Judah.
[2-Chronicles 11:5] AND REHOBOAM DWELT IN JERUSALEM, AND BUILT CITIES FOR DEFENCE IN JUDAH.
[2-Chronicles 11:13] AND THE PRIESTS AND THE LEVITES THAT WERE IN ALL ISRAEL RESORTED TO HIM OUT OF ALL THEIR COASTS.
[2-Chronicles 11:14] FOR THE LEVITES LEFT THEIR SUBURBS AND THEIR POSSESSION, AND CAME TO JUDAH AND JERUSALEM: FOR JEROBOAM AND HIS SONS HAD CAST THEM OFF FROM EXECUTING THE PRIEST'S OFFICE UNTO THE LORD:
[2-Chronicles 11:15] AND HE ORDAINED HIM PRIESTS FOR THE HIGH PLACES, AND FOR THE DEVILS, AND FOR THE CALVES WHICH HE HAD MADE.
It appears from the above that most of the Levites joined themselves to Judah.
The Druids amongst the Ten Tribes, to the degree that they parallel the Levites, could be understood to represent descendants of those whom Jeroboam had chosen to replace them.
On the other hand,
Jewish Legends (such as those collated by Eldad HaDani) sometimes refer to sections of the Levites and the Children of Moses (who were also Levites) as being attached to the Lost Ten Tribes. One of these legends strongly suggested that the Lost Ten Tribes were in France and the British Isles and/or Ireland.
Perhaps these also were to be found amongst the Druids?
See:
Did the Jews Know Where the Ten Tribes Are?
Jewish Traditions and Locating the Ten Tribes of Israel in the West.
http://www.britam.org/Rechab.html
THE SONS OF MOSES
http://www.britam.org/arabian.html
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2. Interesting Article Comparing Yehudah to Yoseph.
Hamaayan / The Torah Spring
Edited by Shlomo Katz
Vayaishev: Yehuda, Yosef and Chanukah
Volume XVII, No. 8
25 Kislev 5762
November 30, 2002
http://www.torah.org/learning/hamaayan/5763/vayeishev.html
Extracts:
...there must be some relationship between the Chanukah story and the "rivalry" between Yosef and his brothers. ... R' Shimshon David Pinkus z"l suggests the following:
...Yosef and Yehuda represented different ways of serving Hashem, and Yosef was seeking recognition for his approach.
When Yehuda was born, his mother Leah said, "I thank Hashem." She recognized that all comes from Hashem, and she gave Yehuda a name that reflects that fact.... David took no credit for himself, for he recognized that all comes from Hashem.
In contrast, Yosef attributed to a person greater control over his own spiritual standing. And, he taught that this requires a person to be perfect....
The Greeks, too, preached self- improvement and perfection, but this ultimately leads to denying G-d. Unlike the Greeks, Yosef's focus was on spiritual improvement, but Yosef's brothers felt that any philosophy that attributes undue importance to man's accomplishments is heretical.
Ultimately, the approaches of Yehuda and Yosef will be reconciled..
"It was at that time that Yehuda went down from his brothers..." (38:1)
Rashi says that Yehuda's brothers lowered him from his previous stature because he failed to use his influence to save Yosef.
R' Moshe Bezalel Alter z"l (son of the Sefat Emet) commented: That is why Yehuda immediately got married, for the halachah accords a bridegroom the status of royalty. (Quoted in Otzrot Tzaddikei U'geonei Ha'dorot)
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3. New Article. Truly Earnest
A Reply to Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D.
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/polemics/martin.html
Contents:
Part One. 12 Tribes Were Present in Both Judah and Joseph
1. Introduction
2. The article, The Not Lost Tribes of Israel . Who and Where Are the Northern Ten Tribes of Israel Today?
by Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D.
Part Two: Martin Was Confused!!
3. Ezekiel Referred to Judah as the House of Israel!
4. Fulfillment of Prophecy and The Return from Babylon
Were prophecies concerning Ephraim Fulfilled in Biblical Times?
Did the two halves of Israel re-unite during the Babylonian Captivity of Judah?
[to be continued]
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4. Lyne Tracy: Universities, Schools.etc. should teach about the Lost Ten Tribes!
Dear Yair Davidiy
I just read 2369 news letter on input.
I think it would be a good idea for schools, universities to teach the 10 Tribes, as a new subject of interest to the young. It is certainly an inspiration.
God bless
LT
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5. New Article. Resolution 181
The Three Oaths and Joseph
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/16/181.html
Contents:
1. The Three Oaths. Resolution 181
2. The Voting for Resolution 181
3. The Wikipedia Account: How the USA Influenced the vote.
4. Subsequent Events. The Role of Britain
5. Analyzing the Vote
6. Osvaldo Aranha from Brazil. An Unsung Hero
7. Conclusion
Extract:
We identify western nations with the Lost Ten Tribes. The Tribes of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) are especially important amongst English-speaking peoples.
The involvement of these peoples with the State of Israel and the events leading up to it are consistent with these identifications.